Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1887-11-22
A HALF HOUR WITH THoRgAu.

Of him ss ian inconoelAst In literature,
and "a protestant rOniraace." ut
Coz, him nothing to say No; indeed.
Emerson eon,inue.). be fOund Il much
easier than 10 say Yes. IL seemed - II
hi. fr, ins,ic, on hearing . proposilion
WAS to con,ro,en Il. 30 inpatient Was he
Of the limitations Of our daily thought.
n he sighted and dsh-d the opinions OF
Others. IL WAS only that he Vas more In
ten, to reeoneile bis practice With his
own belief" With . natural skill Tor
ma,hsm.iie. and mechanics. he ~s an
accurate surveyor and ine.nioas IN the
use Of tools, though regularly bred TO no
profession. and no trade. unless u b.
ihs, Of lesd.peneil maker. TO which craft
he applied himself for . time In his
fathers msnuf.eiory. "He never mar
ri,d |; he lived alone Gays Emerson he
never wen, 10 church be never voted
be refused to pay his town tax aud vi"
put 10 jail. when seains, bis protest =
TREND paid il for him aud be VAS 10.
leased be sis no hssh; be drank no
vine he never kne- the use Of tobacco |;
aud though . naturalist. he used neither
trap nor gun. lie chose wisely, no
doab,, for himself. TO be the bachelor OF
,hooght aud nature" Mr. Ensrsoa ".
no, quite correct Ia saying he ate no h'sh.
for Thorau 10 one place, referring To bis
manner Of living says; "Ohes ~eni 80
far a. TO slaughter . wood chuck which
rsvi.hsd my bsan-hsld-sfse, bis trans.
migration. ., . Tartar would ssy.-and
ds,oar him. partly for esperimsnts sake; {;
ba, though !, afforded me . momsn'Ary
spjoyment. Notwithstanding . ma'ky
a.,or. | sa~ that the longest ase would
no, make ihA, = good practice, however
II nigh, seem TO have your ~ocdehae"
dressed by The villsg. hatcher.
Thorsn carried bis IDEAS Of economy
TO the a,mos, extreme. As Emerson fs-
marks, "Hs chose TO be rich by making bis
want. fe-. and supplying them himself
wi,hoa, going to anything like the sane
extent. the struggling lsborins man OF
to-day. When ws hear 90 much OF bis
hardship. and alleged ~rongs, nigh,
learn q valuable lsssoa from the example
and experience Of this singular genius.
lie tells how, in isi5. be bull, himself
q house on the shore Of waldea Pond.
IN Concord. Massachusetts,, his native
place, and earned bis living by the labor
Of his own hands only. Here he lived
two years and too mon,hs. lie de-
.eribes kis house thus; "Tish,-shinglei
aud pl.s,erei. ten fee, vide by hi'eea
long. and ,ish, po.,s. With . gsrre' and
. closet. . large window on each side.
two trap doors. one door =, the end. aud
. brick Fireplace opposite. l, hes oe-
CARED TO me thA, 1noreaa may have Got
hi. de. Of house from the old Roman
MANU-, Curia. Dsn,shus. Who. Is Pia-
iieh says. though The creates, man 10
Rome" after three uiamphs over the
mos, wsrliks nations. lived In mean
cottage and cultivated . little spot OF
groard. "iisre." says P!u,,reh. "ihe
ambassadors Of the S.mnliss found him
ia the ehimnsy-oornsr. dressing ,arniP',
and offered him large prtssn, OF gold :
ba, be absolutely refused IL. aud gave
them this answer; a msn who can be
satisfied With such . supper hath no need
Of gold and think !, mote glorious to
conquer the owners Of !, than 10 have It
my.elf'" No, counting bis work. he
giee. the entire Cos, as twenty eight dol
lars, twelve aud = half een,s-namins es.
cry item. With the COS, Of each. of "All
the materials sSesp, the timber. stones
and sand. which. be says, be claimed by
sqas,,sr's right" TIE hn, yssf be
.plan,ed about two acres aud hall.
chiefly with beans. bu, also . smsll part
with potatoes. corn, peas, and 'ufniP''
The whole lot. be said, "eon,ained eleven
acres, mosily crossing up to pines aud
hiekoriss. aud Was so!d the presedios
season for eigh, dollars and sigh, cents
an acre. One farmer .sid that Il Vas
good for nothing bu, to rsi'e eheePing
squirrels on.' In ploughine he got out
several cords Of s,umps. which. with dnis
wood from the pond and the dead WOOD
for the mos, part unmsrehAnisble. be-
hind bis house. supplied him With faei
lie vi. obliged to hire team and man
ior the ploughing. though be held the
plough himself His farm ou,goes Tor
ihi. season, for implements. seed. work,
&c. wsre sl4725 cents. lie raised
twelve bushels Of beans. and eighteen
bushels Of potatoes, besides some peas
and .wee, coin. the whole netting him
s23.ii-,hus leaving . balance IN his
favor Of ss7li. This. be thought. IVA.
doing better than any farmer In Concord
did that year." "The yellow corn and
turnips were too late 10 come to any
thing" The nex, year he did better
.,ill. though be cultivated only . third
Of an acre. which be spsdsd up. instead
Of hiring team and man to assist In
ploughiug. From the experiercs OF both
yeas be said be learned thu, III one
would live simply and eat Only the crop
which he raised, and raise no more than
he ate, and no, exchange is for sn Ia.
sufficient quantity Of more laSari'us aud
expensive things. be would need to cult.
vsie only few rods Of ground. which II
would be cheaper to spade up than to use
oxen to plough it," lie took the Po-
si,iOn. spparently With sll seriousness
,ha. men "men are not % much the
keepers OF herds ss herds arc the keepers
Of men, the former are 90 much the ir,er.
Men and oxen (he eoniinue.) exchange
work but IL we consider necessary work
only, the oxen will be seen 10 have
greatly the advantage. their farm Is %
much the larger. Cer,sinly no nation
that lived simply In all respects, that is'
no nation Of philosophers. would commit
90 great . blupdsr ss to use the labor oI
Animsls."
At the end Of eish. mon,hs. embrae'
cd in the period from July 4,h 10 March
Let, b. made up statement Of deb'o'
aud creditor showing the following re-
suit, viz
U.puse se....-................... "a
farm one year. .....s......''.''....'''.'.
fooi eight months. hs.......,s......''.--'-'' !.
| Clothing, stc., sight moDths..............
on lc. eixat months. .................. lW